CA DUI Laws

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 is a date that Lindsay Lohan will not forget — hopefully.  Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in a drug rehab which she will immediately go to after completing her 90-day jail sentence that was handed down by the judge rendering the decision in her case.  Although Lohan reacted in shock and tears, she is no stranger to run-ins with law enforcement due to alcohol and drug abuse in the past.  Lohan’s list of legal issues is anything but stellar . . .

In February of 2005, she got sued in a personal injury case wherein Ilex Harris and Eddie Pamilton were allegedly injured in an automobile accident involving her.  In October of that same year, she crashed her vehicle again in West Hollywood, CA and wound up getting an ambulance ride to the hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.  She was 19 years old at the time.

The following year started off with a bang for Lohan as well when the magazine “Vanity Fair” published an interview they had with her in January of 2006 wherein she claimed to be suffering with bulimia.  Lohan turned around and denied it even though there were numerous quotes in the article, one of which quoted her as saying, “I was sick. Everyone was scared. And I was scared too. I had people sit me down and say, ‘You’re going to die if you don’t take care of yourself.’”

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A year later (January, 2007), she checked herself into a rehab because she “made a proactive decision” in order to address her personal health and attempt to improve it.  According to her publicist, she had been attending AA meetings for over a month at the time she entered the alcohol and drug rehab.  Ironically, 5 months later (May 2007), Lohan drove her Mercedes into a curb and was arrested for suspicion of DUI.  Additionally, the police report stated that a cocaine-like substance was found in the vehicle.

Two days after her arrest on May 28th (Memorial Day weekend), she once again checked into an alcohol and drug rehab.  On June 14th (17 days later) she crashed into a van in Beverly Hills and was accused of being drunk again according to a lawsuit that was launched in October of 2007.  A gentleman named Raymundo Ortega claimed that he had seen Lohan in the Ivy Restaurant earlier that evening consuming mixed drinks and getting drunk.

One month to the day (July 14th), Lohan checked out of the rehab center and celebrated the completion of her 45-day stay by partying with friends in a Las Vegas nightclub.  Supposedly, she remained sober and never drank with her friends.  Only 10 days later, she is once again pulled over by the police in the early morning of July 24th and was arrested on 5 different counts which included driving with a suspended license, driving under the influence, and possession of narcotics.

Lohan got sued again on August 14th and then charged with 7 counts of misdemeanor behavior stemming from the 2 prior DUI arrests that happened earlier in the year.  That December, a video played on the TV show TMZ which shows her in Italy partying with friends and drinking champagne straight out of the bottle.  In October of this past year (2009), she was handed an additional year of probation by the court for her two DUI arrests in 2007 because she failed to attend her court-ordered alcohol education classes.

This past April (2010), Lohan got fired by the producer of “The Other Side” claiming that he felt she was no longer “bankable.”  In June, the Beverly Hills court judge assigned to her case issued an arrest warrant for her and orders bail in the amount of $200,000 because she violated a court order to not consume alcoholic beverages.  Additionally, she was wearing a SCRAM alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet at the time of her violating probation.

Originally published here.

Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys are faced with a new challenge in defending drunk driving due to new attempts by California police authorities to fight DUI.  Police Departments throughout California are attempting to use social media and online services to make those who get arrested for DUI embarrassed.  How do they propose doing it? Criminal Attorneys are informed that their client’s name and photo may be placed on social media sites such as facebook, myspace and LinkedIn.

Fighting DUI cases in California has become increasingly difficult for Drunk Driving Defense Attorneys.  This is just another reason why DUI lawyers must take every drunk driving arrest, especially those that involve bodily injury more seriously.

Privacy advocates must work in conjunction with criminal attorneys to curb the overly enthusiastic efforts of Los Angeles Police Department to fight DUI by causing unnecessary shame and embarrassment, when other means of fighting DUI is readily available.  Police Department defends its proposed action of placing mug shot of those who get arrested more than once for driving under the influence of alcohol on sites such as Facebook and Myspace, by arguing that such action “saves lives”.  It is arguable, however, how causing shame and embarrassment by exposing such individuals to pubic view will save lives. To what extent could law enforcement authorities invade one’s privacy?  Is this the beginning of the creation of a database of DUI convictions with their private information and photos available for everyone to see?

Are the authorities attempting to fight DUI cases by making DUI an equivalent of sexual predators whose name are readily available online?  To propose that the photograph of everyone who gets arrested for Drunk Driving must be immediately place on social media sites clearly violates the constitutional rights of our private citizens.  Criminal Defense Attorneys have long fought for our citizen’s rights to privacy and have played a major role in creating a balance between privacy rights of our citizens and the government’s right to protect the safety of the public.  In the context of California Drunk Driving Laws, and for all intents and purposes in the whole United States, there should not be an assumption that everyone who gets arrested for DUI will in fact be convicted of the crime.  Also, many times a conviction is the result of plea negotiations between criminal attorneys and prosecutors in DUI courts, where there is not convincing evidence of the arrestee’s guilt.

To cause such embarrassment to DUI arrestees by exposing them to ridicule and shame on social medial sites California Law Enforcement Authorities are clearly invading our citizen’s privacy rights, their right to be secure in their property and belongings, and the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven.

The presumption of innocence does not change for repeat DUI offenders.  There is no question that drunk drivers in California are responsible for a large percentage of vehicle related deaths each year.  However, defense attorneys argue that the constitutional rights of private citizens should not be abridged in order to curtail the interest of those who intend to drink and drive.  We could not correct a wrong with another wrong.  If we don’t stop this, next thing you know, they will make the license plate of drunk drivers a different color so that everyone knows they have had a DUI, or they could make them place a red flag in their yard, and better yet write it on their forehead “drunk driver!”

Multiple Police Departments in California have pressed the issue of placing mug shots of DUI arrestee online.  This is done in an increased push by law enforcement authorities and various non-profit organizations and anti DUI advocates who have lost loved ones in drunk driving accidents.

DUI Defense requires specialized Knowledge and skill. With the help of our trained attorneys who aggressively defend Drunk Driving charges, avoid jail time and license suspension. Get the most professional Drunk Driving defense in Los Angeles you deserve. 

At the Law Offices of Tony M. Seyfi, criminal defense attorney, our goal is victory for our clients in defending DUI cases, and we are confident of our defense strategies.  If you would like to discuss your DUI case, call us today for a FREE CONSULTATION and case analysis.

Law Offices of Tony M. Seyfi, Los Angeles, California.  Call:  866-533-3363

Originally published here.

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